Comparison

BOS vs Welcome App

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

BOS

Report non-emergency neighborhood issues in Boston, such as potholes and graffiti. Track the status of your reports and view active issues on a city map. This app helps residents improve their communities by streamlining communication with city services.

Highlights
  • Report neighborhood issues
  • Track report status
  • View active reports on map
  • Submit non-emergency requests
  • Community improvement tool
Read full description

BOS:311 enables Boston's residents to improve their neighborhoods by reporting non-emergency issues in their communities, like potholes and graffiti. Reports are automatically fed into the City of Boston’s work order system to track and assign them to City staff. Through the app, you can follow the status of your request, as well as the statuses of other reports in the City. There’s even a map to get an easy overview of active reports in Boston.

About

Welcome App

This app allows you to manage your door communication system remotely. See and hear visitors at your door, and review missed calls with recorded images and timestamps. Connects to your Welcome system via a myABB-LivingSpace account.

Highlights
  • Remote door call reception
  • See and hear visitors
  • Missed visitor recording
  • Image and timestamp capture
  • Wi-Fi and cellular network support
  • myABB-LivingSpace account integration
Features
Read full description

Experience the door communication of your Welcome system on your smartphone or tablet! Never miss a door call. With the Welcome app all calls are transferred directly to your mobile device. You can see and hear who is at your door via Wi-Fi network or remotely on 3G/ 4G (or higher) networks. Missed visitors are recorded with picture and date and can be called up at any time later. Simply connect the app to your Welcome system via the myABB-LivingSpace account. Information about the configuration of your IP-Gateway is shown in user manual.

Screenshots

BOS4 screens
Welcome App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Welcome App at 3.5 against BOS's 2.6. BOS's advantage is review sentiment (36% vs 7%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Welcome App holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 85 and 146 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of BOS's written reviews are positive against 7% of Welcome App's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
BOS versus Welcome App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBOSWelcome App
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (85 ratings)3.5 (146 ratings) — better
Positive reviews36.2% of reviews — better6.7% of reviews
Number of ratings85146 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.4 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB105 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCity of BostonABB Information Systems AG

Customer experience

BOS

All ratings80 ratings
Positive36.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative57.5%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive36.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative58.0%

Welcome App

All ratings146 ratings
Positive60.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative35.6%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive6.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative86.7%

Bugs and requests

BOS

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Reports opened for months with no action
  • App doesn't do its job or city departments don't
  • Reports go unanswered for months
  • App doesn't recognize certain areas
  • New version is slower and less effective
Show 15 more
  • Map feature is broken or unreliable
  • Cases never close or are not resolved
  • App is clunky and difficult to use
  • App crashes upon opening
  • App stops working after iOS updates
  • App shows 'updates failed'
  • App button for creating new requests not working
  • App opens multiple reports at once
  • Clicking on map pins opens an unclosable banner
  • App stops showing correct trash pickup days
  • App is broken when trying to attach a picture
  • App is broken after new update
  • Impossible to create a new report for months
  • Server registration fails
  • App crashes on older iOS versions

Requested features

13 requests
  • Allow users to comment on or corroborate reports
  • Add ability to delete a report
  • Add feature to report speeding
  • Make 'recent reports' tab accessible for voiceover users
  • Add more categories for reporting (e.g., cyclists, bike lanes)
Show 8 more
  • Increase app awareness through ads, especially in underserved communities
  • Improve filtering options for reports on the map
  • Allow users to see if an issue has already been reported
  • Revert to previous app version
  • Fix bugs and add new features instead of completely changing everything
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve map accuracy for address location
  • Add option to report crimes (currently only for non-crimes)

Welcome App

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BOS

No in-app purchases

None

Welcome App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BOS free?
BOS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Welcome App free?
Welcome App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BOS or Welcome App?
Welcome App is rated higher. BOS averages 2.6 out of 5 from 85 ratings, while Welcome App averages 3.5 from 146 ratings.
Do BOS or Welcome App have ads?
Neither BOS nor Welcome App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BOS or Welcome App?
BOS ships an update every 4 months, and Welcome App every 4 months. Most recently, BOS was updated on October 24, 2026 and Welcome App on October 24, 2026.

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